Official Language
English
Updated July 2026 · Sources cited: en.wikipedia.org, atlasls.com
Overall10/10English is the native language
Good to know
Good to Know
- Nearly 30% of Chicago residents speak a language other than English at home, making the city exceptionally multilingual, yet English remains the universal language for all public services and daily business.
- Spanish is by far the most widely spoken non-English language, but Polish remains notably strong on the Northwest Side—Chicago ranks among the top U.S. cities for Polish-speaker density.
- Major neighborhoods have distinct linguistic characters: Pilsen and Little Village are Spanish-dominant, Chinatown is Chinese-dominant (Mandarin and Cantonese), and areas like Devon Avenue feature Hindi, Urdu, and Gujarati communities.
- Language barriers can arise, especially for those with limited English proficiency; ESL classes and language support services are available through nonprofits and community organizations like the Chinese Mutual Aid Association and Indo American Center.
- CTA public transit provides bilingual signage in Spanish/English and maps in multiple languages, making navigation easier for non-English speakers.
Official Language
- Status
- official language of Illinois
- Language
- English
- Notes
- English is the sole official language at the state level and is dominant in government, business, education, and most workplaces.
Cultural Attitudes
Chicagoans are generally proud of their cultural heritage and showing interest in learning words in someone's native language is often appreciated. While English is dominant, many residents are bilingual.
English Proficiency
- Overview
- English proficiency is very high in Chicago; nearly 80% of the state population speak English natively, and most others speak it fluently as a second language.
- Practical Navigability
- Public services, schools, and businesses mainly use English; most signs, billboards, and official papers are in English. English is the most useful language for residents and visitors in Chicago.
English Speakers At Home
- Percentage
- 71.7
- Approximate English Dominant Population
- majority
English As Second Language
- Population Speaking Other Language At Home
- approximately 28-30% of Chicago residents
Among Multilingual Residents
- Speak English Well
- 20.7%
- Speak English Not Well
- 15.9%
- Speak English Very Well
- 57.3%
- Speak English Not At All
- 6.2%
Additional Languages
Over 100 languages are spoken in Chicago. Other notable languages include Urdu, Gujarati, Ukrainian, Hindi, Russian, Korean, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, German, Greek, and Italian. Chicago Public Schools reports over 140 languages spoken by students.
Multilingual Infrastructure
- Public Transit
- Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) provides multilingual signage and announcements in Spanish and English; maps and guides available in other languages.
- Language Services
- Professional translation and interpretation services widely available across healthcare, legal, education, and business sectors due to linguistic diversity.
- Neighborhood Signage
- Bilingual or multilingual signage common in neighborhoods like Chinatown, Pilsen, and Little Village.
- Government Language Access
- City of Chicago provides language access services in Spanish, Chinese (Simplified), Hindi, Polish, and Arabic based on populations reaching 5% or 10,000 residents, whichever is less. American Sign Language (ASL) and Minimal Language Skills (MLS) also provided.
Most Common Non English Languages
Spanish
- Home Language Percentage
- 16.72
- Rank
- 1
- Population Estimate
- approximately 1.4 million speakers in Chicago area
- Notes
- Far outweighs all other non-English languages combined. Widely spoken in neighborhoods including Pilsen, Little Village, and Humboldt Park.
Chinese (Mandarin & Cantonese)
- Home Language Percentage
- 1
- Rank
- 2
- Population Estimate
- approximately 42,000 speakers
- Notes
- Mandarin and Cantonese both widely spoken. Concentrated in Chinatown area.
Polish
- Home Language Percentage
- 1.83
- Rank
- 3
- Notes
- Chicago has one of the largest Polish populations outside of Poland. Concentrated in northwest neighborhoods including Avondale, Jefferson Park, and Logan Square. Chicago tops the nation's largest cities for percentage of Polish speakers at home.
Tagalog (Filipino)
- Home Language Percentage
- 0.8
- Rank
- 4
- Notes
- Spoken by significant Filipino community throughout the city.
Arabic
- Rank
- 5
- Notes
- Growing Middle Eastern community; increasingly common in certain neighborhoods.
AI-generated estimateData refreshed July 2026
Sources cited for this category
These are the sources cited in this language & english friendliness research for this city. Individual figures may not each trace to one of them.
More About Chicago
Data last updated July 2026 · Verify anything important.